Major record labels are suing the artificial intelligence company behind BBL Drizzy’s song

A group of record labels, including the Big Three — Universal Music Group (UMG), Sony Music Entertainment, and Warner Records — have filed a lawsuit against two of the biggest names in the generative AI music industry, alleging that the companies infringed on their copyrights. “Collectively.”

Two AI companies, Suno and Udio, use text prompts to produce original songs. Both companies have enjoyed a level of success: Suno is available for use in Microsoft Copilot through a partnership with the tech giant. Udio was used to create the song “BBL Drizzy”, one of the most notable examples of AI music going viral.

The case against Sono was filed in federal court in Boston, and Odio’s case was filed in New York. Labels say artists across genres and eras have had their work used without consent.

The lawsuits were filed by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), the powerful group that represents major players in the music industry, and a group of labels. The RIAA is seeking damages of up to $150,000 per action, along with other fees.

“These are clear cases of copyright infringement involving unauthorized copying of audio recordings on a large scale. Suno and Udio are trying to hide the full scope of their infringement rather than putting their services on a proper, legal footing,” Ken Durchu, RIAA chief legal officer, said in a press release. .

Prosecutors say that when they accused Suno of using copyrighted works, the company deflected by saying the training data was “confidential commercial information.” Audio made similar allegations in correspondence, according to the lawsuit. “If Suno made efforts to avoid copying Plaintiffs’ audio recordings and including them in its AI model, Suno’s service would not be able to reproduce a convincing imitation of such a wide range of human musical expression with the quality that Suno promotes,” the complaint reads.

The suits represent an important step in the contentious battle between the music industry and technology companies offering artificial intelligence tools. UMG and other music publishers previously sued Anthropic for distributing copyrighted song lyrics when users requested the Claude 2 system.

Starting last year with a fake Drake song created using artificial intelligence, artists and labels have waged a public battle against companies they say have illegally copied their protected works to train and develop AI tools. Some AI systems are able to reproduce recordings that convincingly sound like well-known artists, raising questions about the extent to which a musician’s fake image is controlled by AI.

Platforms like TikTok and YouTube have also been put in the crosshairs as AI-generated music spreads across the internet. Earlier this year, music by UMG artists including Taylor Swift was temporarily removed from TikTok as the two companies failed to reach a licensing deal, partly due to concerns about artificial intelligence. Last fall, YouTube announced a new system for removing AI-generated music content at the request of rights holders. In May, Sony Music sent letters to hundreds of technology companies warning them against “unauthorized” use of copyrighted works.

Suno executives and investors have acknowledged the possibility of being sued in Rolling Stone Company profile Practice this. For some, it’s simply the cost of doing business: Antonio Rodriguez, one of Suno’s early investors, told the magazine: “Honestly, if we had deals with brands when I started this company, I probably wouldn’t have invested in it. I think they need to make this product.” Without restrictions.

AI companies have been secretive about the data used to train their models. OpenAI is currently being sued by authors and news publishers such as New York times Who say their work is included in the training data. OpenAI CTO Mira Moratti has Repeatedly evaded questions About whether Sora, the company’s AI-powered video creator, has been trained on YouTube content.

Although much AI-generated music isn’t a perfect replacement for songs by human artists, there is a real fear in music and other creative industries that AI content could limit their ability to make money from their work. In April, she created a group called the Artists’ Rights Coalition He wrote an open letter Calling on AI companies to “stop using AI to violate and devalue the rights of human artists.”